Sick Day
by SarahJane85
Summary: Sarah Jane teaches Luke the finer points of a sick day.
1. Sick Day

**I'm watching this show for the first time, and I'm only a few episodes into the second season. I'm sure something's wrong, canon-wise, so I'm going to call this slightly-AU. I've loved the dynamics between Sarah Jane and Luke, and I apologize in advance for the shameless fluff. I'm sorry if some of it is too American-sounding, I did my best with the terminology.**

**This was going to be a one-shot, but I decided to make it two smaller chapters so I could get a feel for what parts people enjoyed. I'm very new to fanfic, so I'm sorry if this isn't that great.**

"Luke, breakfast!" Sarah Jane called up the stairs for the third time that morning. "You're going to be late if you don't come down now!"

"Coming, Mum." Luke hastily put his tie on and gave his hair a quick fix in the mirror. He was more tired than usual, and his throat felt odd. He was moving slowly, so it had taken him longer to get dressed than it normally did.

Sarah Jane was refilling her coffee mug when Luke shuffled into the kitchen. He was pale, and his eyes had a weakness to them that make her suspect he wasn't feeling well. "Hmm, looks like today might be a sick day. What's the matter?"

Luke looked confused as he plopped into a chair at the table. "A what?"

Sarah Jane cupped his chin with her hand and studied him closely. "You don't look like you're feeling very well. Do you feel ill?"

"What does that mean?"

"Do you feel different than normal? Do you hurt any place?"

Luke shrugged. "I'm tired, I guess. I'm okay."

Sarah Jane wasn't convinced. Thinking back on the few motherly moments she'd witnessed as a child at a chum's home or with a neighbor her aunt sometimes engaged to stay with her when she didn't feel well and was too young to stay home from school alone, she tried to remember what to do in this situation. Ah, yes, the forehead thing. She moved her hand to his shoulder and placed her other hand on his forehead. She had no experience with sick children, but she didn't think he felt warm. He still didn't look well, and she knew she didn't own a thermometer. This was a moment like several others she'd had recently where Maria's words on Luke's first night resonated with her—'you're a mum now.' Indeed, she was, and she was a mum who didn't know what the bloody hell to do at the moment. "I'll be right back. Don't leave before I come back, I'll drive you to school." She left the house to go over the road and borrow a thermometer.

Luke took a bite of toast, but it hurt his throat to swallow. He wasn't all that hungry, anyway. He quickly dumped the contents of his plate into the garbage and covered it with some paper towels before Sarah Jane got back.

"Oh, Good Morning, Sarah Jane," Gita greeted when she opened the front door. "Rani—"

"No, actually, I just wanted to see if you had a thermometer I could borrow. Luke isn't feeling well, I'm afraid. He doesn't seem feverish, but I'm not sure I have a mother's touch yet in that respect," Sarah Jane admitted.

"Come with me, there's one in the kitchen. Does he have an appetite this morning? Is he sluggish? Are his cheeks flushed?" Gita grilled her as they walked to the kitchen.

"I don't know about his appetite, he had just come downstairs for breakfast when I came over here. He was moving slowly, and his eyes just looked..."

"Weak?" Gita supplied.

Sarah Jane nodded. "Exactly. He said he was just tired, but he loves school and probably doesn't want to stay home."

Gita rolled her eyes. "See if you can get him to rub off on Rani." She pulled a thermometer and a probe cover out of a cabinet. "Here. If he doesn't have a fever, then he could just be getting a cold. Rani complains and tries to get out of school at the first sniffle, so she has to have a fever before I let her stay home."

"Thanks, Gita, I'll bring this back after I take Luke to school or send him back to bed, whatever the case may be. I need to go to the grocery, so I'm just going to drop him off if he's not running a fever. I'd rather him not walk this morning if he's getting ill." Sarah Jane hurried back home and found Luke waiting for her in the kitchen with his backpack over his shoulders. "Hold on, let me check your temperature. Under your tongue," she instructed as she slipped the thermometer into his mouth.

"Wh—nrg—"

"Shh, don't talk until it beeps." Sarah Jane plucked the thermometer out of his mouth after the final beep. "Hmm, no fever, but are you sure you feel well enough to go to school?"

"_Yes_, Mum, let's go."

A few minutes later, Sarah Jane studied Luke one more time and felt his forehead again before she dropped him off in front of the school. "If you start feeling worse, uh...Tell one of your teachers. They'll tell you what to do."

"Still haven't read that parent guide, huh?" Luke teased. "Bye, Mum."

Later that morning, Sarah Jane wasn't surprised to receive a phone call from Park Vale, informing her that Luke was ill and she needed to collect him. She barely took the time to grab her coat before she rushed out the door.

Meanwhile, Luke was slumped on a bench in the office with his eyes closed, feeling miserable. He really hadn't felt that bad before school, but his sore throat had gotten much worse in the last couple of hours, he had a splitting headache, and he was cold and felt heavy and achy. When Sarah Jane arrived, he could tell it was her that had come through the door without opening his eyes. He could've cried from relief when he smelled her perfume and just sensed her familiar presence. "Mum, I don't feel good," he croaked. Even with his heightened intelligence, he still had the kid-like tendency to say "I don't feel good" despite knowing better.

Sarah Jane cradled him against her side and pressed her hand to his warm cheek for a few moments. "Oh, honey..." His face was flushed, and there was no question of whether he had a fever this time. She put her hands on his cheeks and kissed his forehead. "You're burning up. Let's get you home."

"Sounds good."

Sarah Jane went to the front desk and scribbled her name on Luke's sign-out sheet, then slung his backpack over her shoulder. "I have your bag. Let's go." She put her arm around him as she walked him to her car. "Where does it hurt?"

"My throat and my head are killing me. I hurt all over."

"I'm sorry, honey, I should've trusted my instincts and kept you home this morning." She tossed his bag into the back seat and made sure Luke was buckled in before she started the car. "I bought some medicine and things at the grocery this morning, but I may need to take you to the doctor tomorrow. Your symptoms sound like Strep Throat, but I'll have Mr. Smith scan you in case you picked something up from our 'visitors' last week." She'd wanted to take care of him the old-fashioned way, but Mr. Smith could tell her whether it was something human or otherwise that was ailing him.

When they got home, Sarah Jane ushered Luke up to the attic. "Mr. Smith, I need you!" She waited impatiently through the ridiculous fanfare that preceded his arrival. "I need you to scan Luke, please. He's fallen ill."

Mr. Smith analyzed Luke. "He appears to have become a host for a bacterial parasite that preys on humans. It will multiply within him and take over his healthy cells, unless either his immune system can defeat it or he receives aid from a foreign agent."

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes. "So, basically he has an infection and needs an antibiotic."

"Well, anyone could make it sound boring, Sarah Jane. I apologize, but I forgot to mention that he also appears to have cervical lymphadenopathy."

Her eyes widened. She had no idea what that was, but it didn't sound good. "He has _what_?!"

"Swollen lymph nodes."

"Oh, shut _up_, Mr. Smith!"

After leaving the attic, Sarah Jane put clean sheets, pillows, and blankets on the sofa while Luke changed into his pajamas. By the time she'd changed into more comfortable clothes, herself, he was coming downstairs. He gave her a confused look. "I don't think I've ever seen you in sweatpants in the middle of the day. It's not even the middle of the day yet." He turned toward the kitchen, but Sarah Jane steered him toward the living room. "I wanted some juice."

"I'll get it." She led him to the sofa and tucked him in, making sure the telly remote was within reach. "Find something to watch on the telly, and I'll get some medicine for you." She came back a couple of minutes later with a glass of juice and placed a couple of caplets in his hand. Once he'd taken them, she settled beside him on the sofa and propped his pillow against her lap. He'd found a movie, and she brushed her fingers through his hair as he watched it. Moments like this were what came to mind the times she'd longed for her own children in the past.

"You don't have things you need to do?" Luke murmured. He wasn't complaining, by any means, this felt amazing.

"It'll keep. I think I'm due for a lazy day on the sofa."

"Is this part of the 'sick day' thing?" he asked, remembering her comment that morning.

"Precisely. You are not to lift a finger. Mum will be right here to get what you need. Anything else you want?" Luke shook his head. "All right. It's close to lunchtime, I'll see about getting you some soup."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "You're not cooking, are you?"

"Don't be ridiculous. We'll order in."

Soon after lunch, Luke started to get off of the sofa, and Sarah Jane pulled him back down. "What do you need? Let me get it for you."

"I'm going to the loo, unless you can wee for me, Mum."

"Oh. Sorry. No, I don't suppose I could." One good thing about getting a child as a teenager was that at least she didn't have to deal with toilet-training or being woken up in the middle of the night to change a wet bed and child even after they were trained. She'd have been nicer and more patient about it than her aunt had been, but it was still something she was okay with missing out on.

After a cozy afternoon of Luke napping on and off and Sarah Jane reading and trying to keep her son comfortable, she ordered in more dinner for herself and warmed up leftover soup for Luke. He'd claimed he didn't want anything, but she hoped he'd eat a little bit. He'd perked up a little bit after the medicine kicked in, but it seemed to be wearing off. She felt him shiver, so she adjusted his blanket over him and tucked it more tightly around his shoulders. "Is that better?" Luke nodded. She smoothed his hair back and held her hand to his forehead. "Hmm, I should probably check your temperature." She retrieved the thermometer she'd bought that morning and held it under his tongue. Still too high, just as she suspected. "I'll give you some more medicine before you go to bed, and I'll ring my physician in the morning."

A couple of hours later, she gave Luke more medicine and led him upstairs for bed. While he was in the bathroom getting ready for bed, she straightened his unmade bed and made sure his phone was within reach. "Ring me if you need me," she instructed as she tucked him in. His voice wasn't much more than a whisper with his sore throat, and she probably wouldn't hear him if he tried to call out for her during the night. "If you wake up and feel worse or can't go back to sleep, your phone's right here. I'll come to you." She smoothed is hair back from his face and kissed his forehead. She remembered being ill as a young girl and feeling too bad to fall asleep. She'd wished her aunt would come sit with her during those long nights, even as a teenager. Luke seemed so helpless, and she couldn't bear to leave him by himself.

"Mum..." he mumbled.

"I'm right here, honey. I won't leave until you're asleep." Sarah Jane brushed her fingers over his warm cheek and patted his back when he tossed and turned and tried to get comfortable again. He finally managed to fall asleep, and she put a glass of water beside his bed in case he woke up thirsty during the night before turning in, herself.

The next morning, it was after 10:00 by the time Luke trudged downstairs. Sarah Jane was sipping coffee on the sofa and watching the news. "Morning, darling, how are you feeling?"

"Awful." Luke slumped against her and lay on her shoulder.

"I can see that." She draped a blanket over him and wrapped her arm around him, pressing her cheek to his forehead. "You still feel hot. I'm seeing you to the doctor this afternoon, okay?" Luke barely grunted in acknowledgment and pulled the blanket more tightly around his shoulders. He couldn't get warm and everything felt heavy, and he'd only gotten out of bed because he was bursting for the loo. His throat felt like it was on fire. Once he'd gotten out of bed, it was worth it to take the extra energy to go downstairs, where there was medicine and a mum to help him feel better.


	2. Chapter 2

Sarah Jane let Luke lie against her for a while before deciding she should get him some medicine. She winced as he struggled to swallow the pills, although they were small, and made a mental note to buy liquid next time. It was rainy and dreary out, and the gloomy weather discouraged her from wanting to do anything but snuggle her sick son on the sofa. She rubbed his back and ran her fingers through his hair, trying to comfort him, but she felt so helpless. She hated seeing him so sick, and there wasn't much she could do about it until she took him to the doctor. Her ministrations seemed to be working, though, and he was almost asleep when her phone rang. She was planning to ignore the call until she saw that it was Park Vale, which reminded her that she was supposed to call them to inform them of Luke's absence. "Bullocks!" Luke looked up at her, confused. He'd never heard her say that before. "Sorry. I just realized I didn't ring the school to tell them you were ill and would be absent today." She answered the call, assured them that Luke was still not feeling well and apologized for not calling earlier, and hung up.

"Mum, my throat is killing me," Luke whined.

"I know, darling." Sarah Jane gently held her hand to his throat, like that would do any good. "I wish I could make it stop. Let me get you some tea." She returned shortly with a mug of tea laced with honey and cinnamon, per Gita's instructions. Rani had popped over before school that morning to inquire about Luke, and seeing how at a loss Sarah Jane was about what to do for him until she could get him to the doctor, she'd dragged her over the road to talk to her mum. Luke drank most of the tea before handing the mug back to Sarah Jane to put on the coffee table. She patted her lap, inviting him to lie down, and he didn't hesitate to snuggle against her. Most kids had endured the hell of being sick several times by the time they were Luke's age, but it was new to him. And to her. Being ill herself was miserable enough, but caring for a sick child that didn't know what had hit him and expected her to make it better made her want to cry. She put her hand on his burning forehead for what seemed like the millionth time that morning, but she didn't know what else to do. She felt Luke relax a little under her touch, so she kept her hand there and lightly stroked her fingers across his skin. She was relieved when he fell asleep, and she finally had to wake him up to get ready for his appointment a couple of hours later.

Sarah Jane gently shook Luke awake and pushed his hair back from his face. "Luke, honey, you need to wake up, okay?"

"Whyyyyy," Luke groaned. "Sleepy."

"I know, but you need to wash up so I can take you to the doctor."

"Don't want to."

"Well, you're going to have to if you want to get well." Sarah Jane pulled his blanket off and softly nudged him to stand up. "I'll start your shower and get some clothes for you."

When Luke's name was called a little while after arriving at the doctor's office, Sarah Jane stood up and guided him to the waiting nurse. He looked nervous as his vitals were checked, so Sarah Jane offered her hand, which he gratefully accepted. When Dr. Hillier came in, she was slightly taken aback when she recognized Sarah Jane.

"I adopted Luke about a year ago," Sarah Jane explained.

"Oh, got it." After chatting for a few moments, Dr. Hillier turned to Luke. "What brings you in this afternoon?" She asked pleasantly.

Luke gave Sarah Jane a pleading look, silently begging her to answer for him.

"I collected him from school yesterday morning with a horrid sore throat and a high fever," Sarah Jane answered. "He's also had a headache."

Dr. Hillier removed a throat swab and a tongue depressor from a couple of containers. "Have you given him any medicine recently? His temperature's a bit high."

Sarah Jane shook her head. "Not since this morning. I could tell it was starting to wear off, but I wanted you to have a true reading, so I didn't give him more."

"That's okay, I just wanted to make sure his temperature wasn't this high after taking something. The fever's actually good for him, but you can give him more medicine if he complains of a headache or if the fever makes him too uncomfortable to rest. It's probably strep throat. Let me go ahead and get a strep test started, and it should be ready by the time I've examined him. Open wide for me, okay?" Luke obeyed and gagged as she gently swabbed the back of his throat. "I'm sorry, I know this isn't pleasant," the doctor apologized. "Let me get this started, and I'll be right back."

"What did she mean by 'examine' me?" Luke whispered once she was gone.

"It's nothing," Sarah Jane assured him. "The worst part is over. She'll just ask a few more questions, look in your throat and ears, and check for swollen lymph nodes."

Luke nodded, but he didn't let go of Sarah Jane's hand. When Dr. Hillier came back in, she gently examined him and asked a few more questions before retrieving his strep test and confirming her diagnosis of strep throat. "I'll write a prescription for an antibiotic, and it should work pretty quickly." Sarah Jane thanked her and led Luke out the door.

When they got home, Sarah Jane straightened the sheets and blankets on the sofa and got a glass of water for Luke while he changed back into his pajamas. "Mum, I'm freezing," he complained as he came back downstairs and plopped beside her on the couch.

"I know, honey. Does your head hurt?" Luke nodded. Sarah Jane opened his prescription bottle and placed a pill in his hand. "Let me get some soup and something for your headache. You don't need to take that on an empty stomach."

Luke warily eyed the enormous pill in his hand. "How exactly am I supposed to swallow this? Did the doctor not understand where it hurts?"

"That _is_ a bit large." Sarah Jane held out her hand. "Would you like for me to crush it up for you?"

"No, no, I'll take it."

Once Luke had eaten enough to please Sarah Jane, she tucked him back in on the couch. She held her hand to his forehead and ran her fingers down his cheek. "The paracetamol should bring your fever down some and help your headache," she said apologetically. "You still feel hot." Luke barely grunted in response and lay down in her lap. He was soon asleep, so Sarah Jane eased herself out from under him and adjusted his blankets. She hadn't left his side the day before, so there were some things she needed to do around the house. With the dishes in the dishwasher and a load of laundry started, she sat back on the couch and flipped through the channels on the telly.

Luke woke up a few hours later, disoriented. "Mum..."

"I'm right here." Sarah Jane put her hand on his cheek and brushed his hair back from his forehead. "I think your fever went down a little bit. It's time for dinner, let me get you some soup..."

"Dinner? I just ate!"

"You've been asleep for almost four hours. You need to eat something so you can take your medicine."

"Just did that, too," Luke grumbled.

"You need to go ahead and take it, because you have to take one more dose before you go to bed."

"Mu-um, I'm tired!" Luke complained.

"I know, honey." Sarah Jane put her hands on his cheeks. "I wouldn't make you do this if it didn't help you get better."

"I know...Sorry, Mum."

"It's all right." Sarah Jane leaned down and kissed his forehead. "You're entitled to a little whining when you don't feel well."

"I like that rule."

Later that evening, Sarah Jane sat with Luke until he was asleep before turning in, herself. She read in bed for a while, and once she turned her lamp off, she tossed and turned as she kept an ear out for Luke. After checking her phone for the tenth time to make sure it was charged and that the ringer was on high, she was finally starting to fall asleep when a shrill tone sounded from her phone. She barely took the time to confirm that it was Luke before turning the hall light on and hurrying to his room, not bothering to answer the phone. He was sitting up in bed and taking uneven breaths. "Luke? What's the matter?"

"I don't know. My stomach feels strange."

Sarah Jane sat on his bed and placed her hand on his shoulder. "How so? Is it pain, or do you feel nauseous?"

"What does nauseous feel like—" Luke's body answered for him when he leaned forward and threw up in his lap, a confused and frightened look on his face. He had no idea what was happening.

Sarah Jane winced. There wasn't anything nearby to catch it, and trying to get him to the loo now would just leave a trail of vomit for her to clean up. His bed was already a mess, so it was easier to just let him finish. "Oh, dear. You're okay, Luke, it'll be over soon." She patted his back as her own stomach turned. She was _definitely_ not used to _this_ part of having a child.

Sarah Jane seemed to know what was happening to him, so Luke wasn't frightened anymore, but he was ready to get the unpleasant feeling over with. When he finally finished, Sarah Jane went to the bathroom to dampen a cloth with cool water. "Do you feel a little better now?"

Luke nodded. "That was terrible."

"Having a poorly stomach is the worst." Sarah Jane reached for the glass of water she'd left on his nightstand before he went to bed and placed it in his hands. "Here, take a few slow sips. Your antibiotic probably didn't sit well with you." She gently pressed the cloth to his cheeks and his forehead before wiping his mouth. She saw that a bit of vomit had gotten on his hands, so she wiped his hands clean. "All right, let's get you out of these clothes." She pulled his sweatshirt over his head and got a clean pair of pajama pants and another sweatshirt for him. While he was changing clothes, she put fresh linens on the bed in the guest bedroom and got a basin in case he got sick again. She figured he'd had time to change by now, so she went back to his room. "Come along, darling, you can sleep in the spare room for the rest of the night. I'll take care of your sheets."

"Mum, this is gross—"

"Don't worry about it. Come with me." Sarah Jane guided Luke to the guest bedroom and tucked him in. The clean sheets felt amazing, and he shivered as she straightened the covers over him. "Are you warm enough now? Do you need an extra blanket?"

Luke shook his head.

"All right..." Sarah Jane placed her hand on his forehead and felt his cheeks. "You're still burning up. Your medicine should start kicking in tomorrow. It'll work pretty fast."

Luke nodded. "So, what if, um, _that_ happens again?"

"What...If you get sick to your stomach?" Luke nodded. "Well, now that you know what it feels like before it happens, try to make it to the loo so you can get sick in the toilet. I put a basin on the nightstand, you can use that if you don't think you can get to the toilet in time. But, if you do get sick anywhere else, you can wake me up. You don't always get enough warning to keep it contained, especially when you're asleep. It's okay if you don't wake up in time." Sarah Jane sat beside him on the bed and ran her fingers through his hair. "Call me or come get me if you need me."

Once Luke was asleep. Sarah Jane tackled his soiled bedding and pajamas. She gagged as she stripped his bed and lugged everything downstairs to the garbage, afraid she was going to vomit, herself. His quilt was unscathed, he had plenty of pajamas, and she had an extra set of linens for his bed, so she wasn't going to bother with trying to clean them. Once that was taken care of, she looked in on Luke before retiring to her own room.

After a fitful night of sleep, Sarah Jane woke up soon after dawn when she heard Luke in the bathroom. She rubbed her eyes and tried to pry them open as she blindly stumbled into the hall. Luke was on the floor, hovering over the toilet and looking miserable as he got sick. Sarah Jane winced as she stepped in a bit of vomit, but she ignored it for the time being, dampened a cloth, and knelt beside him.

"Mum..." Luke mumbled when he felt her patting his back.

"I'm right here, love." Sarah Jane wiped his face as he heaved into the toilet. "It's all right."

Luke gave her a pleading look when his stomach finally gave him a break. "Mum, please make it stop."

"Oh, darling. I wish I could. Do you think you're finish—I guess not," Sarah Jane answered for herself when Luke leaned back over the toilet. She patted his back and pressed the cool cloth to his cheeks and forehead. When he was finally finished, she helped him rinse his mouth out and started a bath. "You'll feel a little better with a warm bath and some clean pajamas. I'll grab some for you." She wiped up the stray vomit on the floor and got a fresh pair of pajamas for him before closing the bathroom door behind her. She lay back down until she heard him step into the hall and called out for him to come to her room. He climbed in bed beside her and let her tuck him in. "There's no need for you to go all the way downstairs. You can watch the telly in here, and you'll be more comfortable. I'll go get your medicine."

Luke nodded and curled up under the covers. The sheets were still warm where she had been lying before, and the linens held traces of her familiar and comforting scent. The sound of the heavy rain outside was going to lull him to sleep pretty quickly. He groaned when Sarah Jane returned with yogurt and a spoon as well as the juice and medicine he was expecting. "Mum, please, I'm not hungry."

"I know, but you have to eat unless you want your medicine to make you sick again." Sarah Jane opened the yogurt and stirred it a bit before placing it in his hand. Luke managed to eat most of it before giving it back to her. "All right, I suppose that's enough." She shook out a pill and gave it and the glass of juice to Luke before disposing of his breakfast and getting the thermometer. He slumped against her when she climbed back in bed, and she brushed his hair back from his face as she slipped the thermometer into his mouth. He didn't feel quite as hot as the night before, and the thermometer indicated that his temperature had gone down a little bit. The sun had barely risen, and Sarah Jane was exhausted. "Do you think you can go back to sleep?" Luke nodded and shivered as he got more comfortable against her. Sarah Jane tightened the covers over him and got as comfortable as she could with a teenager lying against her. His eyes were starting to close, and she wasn't far behind him.

Sarah Jane woke up again couple of hours later. She couldn't remember the last time she'd still been in bed so late in the morning. She needed to get up, so she gently edged herself out from under Luke. "Mum?" He mumbled.

Sarah Jane placed her hand on his flushed cheek. "I just need to pop to the loo. I'll be right back."

By lunchtime, Sarah Jane felt a bit like a slug, but the pouring rain outside paired with her miserable son in her arms left her with no inclination to get out of bed. After Luke had eaten a little bit and taken his medicine, he found a movie on the telly as she was finishing her own lunch. Sarah Jane took their dishes down to the kitchen and climbed back in bed. Still being in her pajamas at noon was definitely a first, aside from being ill herself. She pulled him into her arms and pressed her cheek to his forehead. "Your fever's still going down."

"You're really good at this," Luke murmured.

"I am? I don't have much to go on, but I'm trying."

"Your aunt didn't take care of you?"

Sarah Jane shook her head. "Aunt Lavinia? Not really. She called for a doctor if I was really ill, and she arranged for one of her neighbors to see to me when I couldn't go to school and was too young to be left alone, but she wasn't so good with the comfort thing." A far-away expression came over her eyes. "Oh, Mrs. Bennett. Her children were grown, and she was the closest thing I ever knew to a mother. Even when I was a teenager and could stay by myself, I'd pop over to her house when I was ill, and she'd hold me and tend to me just like when I was a little girl."

"So I'm not too old for this?"

"Never." Sarah Jane adjusted him in her arms. The rain and wind outside made her bed too cozy to resist, and she napped on and off with Luke for much of the afternoon. By dinner time, neither of them had moved much. Luke was waking up from a long nap, and he curled up beside her, not ready to open his eyes yet. He was feeling a little better, and being in his mom's bed with her comforting scent made the aches in his bones hurt a little less.

Sarah Jane smoothed her hand over his cheek and felt his forehead. "Hi, love. How are you feeling?"

"Throat's a bit better...Tired and achy still."

Sarah Jane cupped his cheeks with her hands and looked him over. "You still have a little fever, but you do look better. You'll need to rest tomorrow, but Clyde and Rani may visit, if you're feeling up to it. You're no longer contagious."

"Sounds good...Thanks for taking care of me, Mum."

Sarah Jane kissed his warm forehead, noting again that his temperature was going down. "Always, darling. I'll always be here when you need me."


End file.
